The Tampa Bay Lightning haven't had their greatest season ever, but they are still firmly in the playoff hunt as the 2024 NHL trade deadline draws near. However, they have a new need to address now that defenseman Mikhail Sergachev is going to be out for the rest of the season after he suffered a gruesome knee injury in their loss to the New York Islanders on Wednesday night.

After racking up 64 points last season, Sergachev only managed 19 through 34 games this season, and it's safe to say Tampa Bay was looking for help at defense prior to his injury. But now that he's out for good, the Lightning have immediately begun to focus heavily on adding more defenseman to their roster ahead of the upcoming trade deadline.

“Proof that best-laid plans can change at a moment’s notice this time of year: Mikhail Sergachev’s ugly-looking injury Wednesday night and subsequent surgery on Thursday puts Tampa Bay in the D market in a whole other way. They were believed to already be shopping at the position, and Sergachev wasn’t having a great year in the first place, but now the Bolts likely have his $8.5 million cap hit to spend ahead of the deadline.” – Pierre LeBrun, The Athletic

The Lightning could suddenly make a big move at the trade deadline

Julien BriseBois, Tampa Bay Lightning

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Assuming Sergachev gets placed on the long-term injured reserve, that would open up $8.5 million in cap space for the Lightning to work with, which could net them a solid defensive contributor ahead of the deadline. Tampa Bay doesn't have a ton of assets to work with, but where there's a will, there's a way, and there's certainly going to be a will to add a defenseman over the next few weeks.

The Lightning were already expected to be a player when it came to adding to their defensive unit ahead of the deadline, but Sergachev's injury has only made the need more pressing. It will be interesting to see what Sergachev's injury timeline ends up being, but it's looking like Tampa is going to be hard at work trying to find a replacement for him on the trade market as the deadline draws near.